The approach to teaching children, which is commonly called early development - getting to know the outside world, letters, numbers with the help of special aids and educational games - has often been criticized in recent years. Alexey Manichenko, CEO of Skylark-Umnitsa (Great Britain-Russia), developer of early development kits, father of 2 children, talks about what early development is today and what it gives to modern children.

- Do you see any problems with the development of modern children - they start walking, talking later, getting used to the pot later than, for example, their parents?

- Norms in the development of children - the concept is very conditional and relative. Norms are measured in a particular country or by a particular scientist, in a particular period. Thus, in the world scientific community it is considered to be a proven fact that most children begin to speak at the age of 10 months to 3 years, and this is the norm.

Yes, the international scientific consultants with whom we cooperate say that over the past decades, the norms have indeed shifted, but not in the direction of a later development, but vice versa. With more information, more varied diets, and a wider selection of games and toys, children develop faster than their ancestors. Evolution.

As for practical skills, such as getting used to the potty, this is a matter of the way of life of the family at this time. What parents need to teach a child to is what he will be accustomed to. "Problems with development" here, in my opinion, nothing to do with it. It's just a matter of education. And by the way, many parents now approach education much more competently than it was possible decades ago.

Fortunately, the world is changing, today's children have more opportunities to develop at their own pace - including not matching the "norms" prescribed by someone. And I think that this is a great achievement of our time.

- What influences the child's abilities more - innate qualities or how they are treated?

- Over the past 10-15 years, world science has come to the conclusion that there is no answer to this question. Neither innate qualities nor the environment surrounding the child affect the development of the child separately. Everything is always intertwined. A baby with a good heredity, growing up in a favorable environment, has the highest chances of being perfectly developed. If one of these terms is missing - either something is wrong with the genes, or with upbringing-education - then the results will most often be lower.

Many innate abilities can manifest themselves only in the presence of favorable circumstances for this. For example, if a child was born with the makings of a great artist, but as a child he had never been to a museum, had never seen paintings or held brushes or a pencil in his hand (I know that all this is unlikely, but still) - the world may never recognize him as an artist. Or a child with the potential of a great mathematician does not get to a talented teacher who is able to feed the growing talent with problems of the appropriate level - and our mathematician will grow up not as outstanding as he could. You can't grow a programmer without a computer, you can't grow a Formula 1 pilot without a car.

- Early development is often criticized for the abundance of activities with books and cards at a time when the child needs to develop large and fine motor skills and emotional intelligence in the first place. What can be said to those who doubt the need for early learning to read, count, etc.?

There are many myths around early development. In fairness, I note that everything related to raising children is often divided into black and white. And, unfortunately, for some parents, the anxiety “Am I doing everything right” drowns out rational thinking.

Remember your school years. Who was not interested in studying - excellent students who clicked tasks like nuts, or poor students who did not keep up with the program? Who skipped classes and did not strive for new knowledge? Experience shows that with a developed child it is interesting for everyone - both the teacher and classmates. Often such a child is not just an excellent student, but also a role model and a leader.

Numerous studies show that competent early development significantly increases a person's achievements in life, makes his life itself richer and more prosperous. The connection between the level of education of a person and his health has been proven - more educated people have fewer health problems and live, on average, much longer. This effect has been found in a wide variety of countries, whatever the climate and health system.

Naturally, early development does not exclude physical activity, communication with peers, hobbies. Moreover, it encourages and stimulates them. The same cards are a tool for classes, I think it would never occur to any mother to limit the world of her child only to them. Card games aren't really that different from pyramid or dice games, but there are dozens of times more forms of activity, creative ideas, and just plain fun, thanks to the variety of things you can put on cards.

In general, in early development there is only one secret of success - you have to do it for pleasure. Use a ready-made kit or make materials yourself - the choice of each mother. We at Skylark-Umnitsa strive to make learning more interesting for children and more convenient for parents, which is why we offer ready-made programs developed by specialists. Our clients have more time for the most important thing - communication with the child.

One of the main principles of early development is to follow the child, not the program. Attention switched - it means it's time to finish. Many people think in the old fashioned way that the task of early development, as well as education in general, is to give kids as much information, knowledge, and facts as possible. As if they will remember everything and, if necessary, immediately apply it. Everyone studied electricity in school, but how many of us are able to fix an outlet? It is more important to give children not knowledge, but love for them and the ability to learn.

Early development, as we understand it, is a completely natural phenomenon. It is impossible to “make” a child prodigy out of a child; with the help of games at an early age, one can only reveal what is inherent in nature. Open like it will never open on its own! And unnoticed talents, unfortunately, are fading away. Therefore, the more opportunities a child gets in childhood, the more abilities he will show, the more interesting it will be for him to study, the greater heights he will be able to achieve. I'm talking about self-realization, about the conscious choice of your path in life. Isn't that what we all want for our children?

Let's start with the fact that the process of forming a child as a person begins even before he is born (by the end of the third week of pregnancy, the nervous system of the embryo is laid) and continues until the senior school age. Actually, any of us can psychologically change and develop throughout our lives, but after coming of age, this process is much more complicated.

In order to change the worldview of a mature person, as a rule, one has to “break” it, because the foundation of the personality, its foundation, is laid even at preschool age. Over time, more and more new "floors" are being erected above this foundation. The older a person is, the more difficult it will be to get to the foundations of his character and even more so to change them. Accordingly: every parent should take care to lay the right and strong foundation for their child in time. Let's look at some important aspects separately.

Any person is surrounded by a huge amount of information. The most important component for its assimilation, processing and further use is memory. Another important aspect is closely intertwined with memory - attention. It must be able to concentrate and properly distribute. Many parents have questions: “How to develop a child’s memory?” and “How to develop attention in a child?” Here are some helpful tips and exercises:

• When working with children of younger preschool age, try to accompany the oral explanation with illustrative examples and vivid illustrations. As a rule, the object of memorization, "attached" to some image that is interesting to the child, is deposited in his memory automatically, without effort. This is also called "involuntary memory".
• Gradually teach your child to create such auxiliary images for himself. Point him to a certain object and ask him to tell you what it is, what it looks like, what it is associated with. You can do the opposite: read the child a fairy tale and ask him to draw what he imagined while listening to it.
• Try to involve the child in collective communication, especially starting from 4-5 years. At this age, the so-called "arbitrary memory" is formed - a person learns to memorize the things necessary for him consciously, without necessarily being tied to a vivid image. To join the team, you need to pay attention to others. To earn the praise of kindergarten teachers, you need to remember the requirements that they put forward. To win in a collective game, you should remember its rules. So the child learns to independently “turn on” and “turn off” the memorization mechanism.
• Suggest more convenient ways of assimilation of information. Teach your child to focus on the most important things. Read a short text to him and ask him to write down the key, most important words. Then offer, based on them, to retell the text. Solve the mistakes together. This will be very useful for future students.
• An effective tool for developing attention is the well-known game "Find the Differences!". The goal is to compare two seemingly identical pictures and find a given number of differences.
• Another exercise: lay out several different objects on the table (for starters, no more than seven) and invite the child to memorize their sequence. After 30 seconds, take him out of the room and swap a few things. Ask the child what has changed and invite him to restore the broken order. Gradually increase the number of items.

Another integral part of child development is speech. It is one of the key skills needed for a fulfilling life. So how to develop speech in a child? Here is a little reminder for you:

• Talk to him as much as possible. Tell him about everything that happens nearby, comment on objects and phenomena, call the people around you by name.
• Walk more with your child, if possible, choose new places for a walk each time. The more new experiences, the better.
• Choose a simple poem and read it to your child regularly. After a while, start asking him to continue the line you started.
• When communicating with a child, remember that he perceives you as a role model. Try to speak loudly enough clearly, do not chatter.
• More illustrated books. Discuss the pictures together, read in turn.
• Work on fine motor skills. It is directly related to speech. Finger games and mosaics are what you need. Designers with small details are also suitable (UNDER MANDATORY SUPERVISION OF PARENTS!).
• Encourage your child to try to speak.

Finally, let's talk about how to develop a child's abilities. Sooner or later, all children begin to get involved in one activity or another. For some, this may later develop into the main business of life. But do not rush: even if your son strums the guitar all day long, this is not a reason to prophesy a career for him as a great musician. Exactly, just as there is no reason to snatch an instrument from his hands with a cry of “Better do something useful!” First of all, watch.

Do not shy away from healthy, restrained criticism - if a person is not pointed out in a timely manner to his mistakes, sooner or later he will come to a standstill and stop developing. There should be a place for encouragement - but only if there really is progress. Empty praise does not lead to good consequences. Try to correctly guide the child: if you see that he is making progress, sign up for courses where he can develop his talent, give him a useful addition to his hobby for his birthday (a large encyclopedia for a novice chemist, training equipment for a future athlete, etc.). Let him know that he can count on your support.

If the child does not have pronounced inclinations to any kind of occupation, you can try to identify them. If you notice that your offspring is significantly ahead of their peers in anything, ask how close this area is to him. It may happen that with ease "clicking" problems in mathematics, he does not have the slightest interest in this science. In this case, you can not impose a hobby, you can only gently try to arouse additional interest. For example, to offer to solve a non-standard, “Olympiad” task in order to spur self-esteem. Or “test the ground” for a child’s interest in related fields of science - a young mathematical genius can “suddenly” go headlong, for example, into physics.

You can also undergo diagnostics aimed at identifying children's abilities. This is usually done in urban psychological consultations or in state leisure centers.

You can either write your own.

“My child has been able to read since the age of one, I have been and am doing early development with him” - such a phrase in some communities of mothers sounds worse than “I yell at my child.” Let me remind you that in my understanding of all important areas in the life of a child, which is happening through play and to the mutual satisfaction of the child and parent. The most frequent question that I am asked at the same time is: “Why is all this necessary?”. I have collected very different answers to this question, from a Japanese author of books to the Ministry of Education, from my own experience of early reading to the opinions of other moms who also work with their children.

Why engage in early development?

Option number 1:

To start, here is the answer Masaru Ibuku ("It's Too Late After 3"):
“From my point of view, the main goal of early development is to prevent unhappy children. A child is not allowed to listen to good music and taught to play the violin in order to grow an outstanding musician out of him. He is taught a foreign language not in order to bring up a brilliant linguist, and not even in order to prepare him for a “good” kindergarten and elementary school. The main thing is to develop in the child his limitless potentialities, so that there is more joy in his life and in the world.

Option #2:

What does he say Law of the Russian Federation "On Education"? Article 18, paragraph 1: “Parents are the first teachers. They are obliged to lay the foundations for the physical, moral and intellectual development of the personality of the child in early childhood.

Option number 3:

Representatives commented on the topic of child development, which is important to them: “Most often, the confrontation of parents about when it is time to deal with a child comes down to a clash of two views. Some take matters into their own hands and begin to deal with the child on their own as early as possible. After all, they understand that this will have a fruitful effect on his mental and mental development. The other part of the parents is sure that their children will be taught everything at school. In the meantime, let them enjoy the freedom of relaxation, games. We could not stand aside and share with you the facts about the benefits of early development:

• 35,000 preschool children in the USA, Canada and England showed that the development of mathematical skills as early as kindergarten age affects not only further success in this subject. Even elementary knowledge of numbers at an early age effectively contributes to the development of reading skills and positively affects the learning of the child as a whole.
• Early activities with children significantly affect their socialization. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and Duke University followed more than 700 children from toddler to age 25 and found that socially advanced children were later able to interact with people without outside prompting, be helpful to others, understand their feelings and solve problems on their own, and were also more likely to get a college education and a decent job by their 25s than people whose social skills were limited in childhood.
• A significant part of the skills that a child receives at school inexorably become obsolete or are used extremely rarely. To a large extent, it is parents who can become an open “door” for children to relevant information. What is worth only one exchange of life experience, thanks to which you can teach a child special knowledge.

Option number 4:

Why should a child be able to read before school?:
1) Reading is development first of all thinking processes, attention, memory and information processing.
2) Ease of development. We do not remember how we learned to speak, and my son does not remember that he could not read. It is simple and natural for him to read what he sees. Therefore, there is no tension, difficulties, unpleasant emotions around this topic. Pasha is sure that reading is easy)))
3) The pleasure of the process. Someone likes mazes, someone likes riddles, someone likes to voice words, someone likes to collect a designer, someone to read. Why deprive a child of the pleasure of reading an interesting story by age? Of course, only if he wants to. And it will be a simple book with a few sentences or a favorite poem on one page, and not "War and Peace." By the way, I am one of those people who love to read and enjoy reading.
4) Independence. When I was in the USA, I was pleased that everything around was clear: all signs in English, signs, menus, etc. And how uncomfortable it is when I don't understand what's written because it's French or Italian or German or Thai. I can’t even find sour cream in the store. Or a child can find the story or fairy tale he needs by looking at the table of contents (Pasha has been doing this for a long time).
5) Reading - basic skill for others to master other areas of knowledge. If you can read, then you can read about anything and find answers to your questions. Or in the encyclopedia, or in Google.
6) Mom also develops by organizing such play activities 🙂

What goals do I NOT set for myself:
- to grow the most intelligent, brilliant, best of all. In general, I consider this a vicious practice. My child doesn't have to be the best at something I love and will love him regardless of his success or failure in life just because it's my baby.
- To read by himself by a certain date. I didn't set deadlines when Pasha has to demonstrate his skills. For what? When we practiced (i.e. played reading), we enjoyed the process, the result was secondary. However, if you stick to the methodology and play regularly, the result will not be long in coming. Specific deadlines in this case would put pressure on my psyche(“I am a bad mother, I do everything wrong”) and on the son’s psyche (“I must live up to the expectations of my parents”). Therefore, we just play when the child wants, he himself will show that he can read.

Here's what moms who also do early childhood development say.

Option number 5:

Olga, Andrey's mother (1.5 years old)
1) the opportunity to be close, the goals set do not give the opportunity to search for all sorts of "urgent" things aside from the child(cooking, cleaning, Internet, etc.)
2) the world around us has become so fast and smart, the requirements for children are growing and getting tougher. I would like to take all possible steps to make his life easier, And this is a natural maternal instinct))
3) still, it seems to me, independence and the development of intelligence are closely related and one cannot exist without the other. All the same, I would not want to see my child as a “sissy” in adulthood.
4) well, me too just nice and very interesting perform various tasks, make something, study, just sit and look at a book with my beloved son.

Option number 6:

Christina, mother of Elisha (2 years old)
I am a mother and I want the best for my child. I consider it important to engage in early child development, because I believe that this will give my son a solid base for the future will help him grow into a successful person, reveal your abilities and talents. My son enjoy our games and activities, I see their results, and for me this is a powerful incentive to continue.

Option number 7:

My name is Natalya Loktenko, I am 31 years old, a journalist by education.
I am the mother of two sons Denis (7 years old) and Rodion (5 years old). Now I work as an employee of the Umnitsa company (a branch in Voronezh), after the birth of my second son, I also became interested in Montessori pedagogy and took Montessori courses.
Engaging in the development of the child is not only important, it is necessary. But mom does not need to think that development is only learning to count, write, read and write. These are conversations, and walks in the forest, for example, and reading books at night, going to museums and exhibitions, even collecting a designer together.
Mom is the most important teacher for her child and the very first. Only a mother knows her baby, his needs, desires, skills, and knows the "key" to him: how to teach and what. But most importantly do not turn classes into lessons, let everything be in the form of a game and only in a good mood.

Option number 8:

Elena, mother of Taisiya (2 years 4 months)
I started reading with my daughter because of bilingualism. I wanted her to speak Russian well before kindergarten, and then to support her knowledge with books. I haven’t got into reading yet, now I’m thinking how to move further towards the result. But the ability to concentrate attention is a clear merit of Doman cards.
I believe that classes at an early age give a solid basis for the development of a harmonious personality of the baby. For me, classes are an excellent guide to the strengths and weaknesses of my daughter. Here, mathematics did not go initially, but we love to create, sing, dance. And this is important to understand.

Option number 9:

Maria, mother of Veronica (3 years old)
For me, the development of a child from an early age is important for three reasons. First of all, it's like brain fitness- make it work and develop, like fitness for the body. Secondly, constant activities with the child help develop the habit of learning and discovering the world. And of course it helps. reveal the talents and inclinations of a child at an early age.
My daughter Veronika is 3 years old, together we love to read in Russian and English, study according to the Doman method, sing, recite poems by heart and skate

Option number 10:

Marina, mother of daughter Sasha (2 years old)
When I say that I study English and not only with my child, I often hear why I do this? What is my ultimate goal? The answers may vary: and general development, flexibility of thinking; and future academic performance At school; And trips, confidence and ease communication; And prestigious job and the opportunity to arrange life anywhere in the world. All reasons have one common motivation - going beyond certain limits, exemption from certain restrictions. Being engaged in the development of the child, we lay the most the main foundation on which the rest of the knowledge will subsequently be based. By opening the doors to this wonderful world full of new discoveries and ideas, parents build the basis for the future for him. For which? And for what he wants! It is very important to give the child the opportunity in the future to choose the path that he will like. Any investment in your child, made with love, will bear fruit. It's great that a whole new generation of intelligent, developed young people will appear who will think progressively, creatively, will be able to study and live where they want and have friends all over the world.

Option number 11:

Anna, Sasha's mother, 1.1 years old
For me, motherhood is a huge responsibility. First of all, for the future of your beloved child. Instead of constantly coming up with excuses that I don’t have time for anything (especially playing with the child), sitting on the phone for hours, etc., I decided for myself to devote all this time to my son. I love spending time with him, at our house practically no ordinary useless toys. Only games for development, there are a lot of them in stores now. And they are not at all boring. But it is interesting to play not only for a child, but also for mom, dad, and grandmothers. We are now 1.1 g, but the results are already huge.
I am trying to teach my baby the most necessary qualities and skills in life. Since I want to my baby in the future was kind, happy and independent. To be able love, appreciate and respect the world around. I could rejoice at new victories and accept defeats with dignity. He was merciful and tolerant. Free and honest. He was a support and an example for his future generation. Strong and healthy. Therefore, we rejoice in every moment spent together. We play together, clean up, cook, etc!

I really wanted to show you that you can engage in harmonious early development, when all games bring joy, when other areas develop in addition to intelligence, when there is no goal to grow a genius, but only to open up a world of limitless possibilities.

I hope the stories of enthusiastic moms have inspired you 🙂

May be, you have your own history and option #12? Share in the comments!

" Child development

© Felix Bozhonka

After three months it is too late (what is the "early development" of the child).

Many parents, discovering gaps (imaginary or real) in the development of their children, feverishly rush to look for saving methods of education and upbringing, spending huge efforts and funds on this. And in their position, this is probably correct. But how much more joyful, happier for all parties, the process of upbringing and education would go if, in the first months of a child's life, parents adhered to simple and logical actions!

How to determine the conditions of "early development" and its timing? According to the author, this is the following:

1. Hardening (water procedures) from birth to 2 months;
2. Sensory familiarization with the outside world from birth to 3 months;
3. Active oral and written language learning from birth.

Based on this, we will try to define the concept of "Early development". "Early development" is a set of measures (as well as their result) aimed at the effective physical, emotional and intellectual development of the child from the first days of life to three months.

Physiologists have long proven that from the first days in the first months of life in the child's brain, there is a process of synaptic overproduction (the period of formation of a huge number of connections between brain cells), i.e. forming the basis for the development of memory and other brain functions of the child.

It was at this time that the foundations were laid for how many times a child will have to read a poem for memorization at school age, for example: he will remember the first time, or twenty will not be enough. Accordingly, it will be easy for him to learn, or with a lot of effort and time. Accordingly, he will enjoy the learning process or it will be a heavy burden.

After a period of synaptic overproduction, a period of gradual reduction of unclaimed connections begins. Excessive connections, not loaded with information from the environment, will disappear, will be destroyed. Therefore, in order to maintain synaptic contacts, it is necessary to consciously nourish the born child with information from the environment.

A newborn baby is a very special being. It contains the possibilities of all previous evolution on Earth (not just daddy's genes). A newborn of the first days, first weeks of life eagerly absorbs sensations, information coming from a new environment for him. He will never have such a powerful novelty of sensations in his life! This is not to be missed if you want to be happy parents and raise happy children!

It is possible to start the mechanisms of effective assimilation, processing and reflection of information only from birth. This need of the body is formed at the cellular level. If you do not put effort into this from birth, then it will be quite difficult to form a natural interest in obtaining information, curiosity. A child at 2.5 months with great pleasure and attention can listen to everything you say to him and consider everything that you show him for a very long time. When he masters his body, he will no longer be able to listen to you for so long. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prepare its perception only in the first months of life. Don't miss out on the joy of being happy parents!

Early child development: what is it?

Today, the problem of early development of young children is often mentioned in fashion magazines, TV shows, and in various forums. Parents and experts are arguing whether early classes with kids are necessary. They argue without even realizing that sometimes they put a completely different meaning into the concept of “early development”. In fact, early development means teaching the baby something from birth to three years (the fact that the human brain develops in the first years of life is known). And the problem is that many in the word "teach" include the "fears" of classical learning, such as forced sitting at a desk and cramming. But early development is not only reading and counting, but also the development of such important mental functions as attention, memory, logical thinking, and the ability to analyze. Early development does not aim to fill the baby's head with unnecessary information, but to strive to create a certain knowledge base that will become the basis for further successful learning.

There are some misconceptions about early childhood development.
1. Early development robs a child of childhood. So they think, those who do not understand that the desire to learn, to learn is the main task of the first years of the baby. And if the information is presented in the form of a game, then what does the “unhappy childhood” have to do with it: it rather refers to kids who are not paid attention.

2. Early development is done by mothers who are fanatics who are obsessed with the child. And here you can argue, because such mothers read a lot, they have a broad outlook, which means they are interesting to others. And if the mother is not driven by ambition and the desire to prove that her child is the smartest, then joint “discoveries” with the child contribute to creative and spiritual growth.

3. A child who is engaged in early development develops faster than others. And here is an inaccuracy - such a child develops faster than he could develop without classes. Comparisons are not appropriate here, because each child has his own, different from other children, the pace and timing of development.

You can list all the pros and cons of the early development of young children as much as you like: parents with outdated views on raising a child limit his development, and parents who thoughtlessly adhere to modern methods and strive to grow a genius injure the baby's psyche. And if the parents have already chosen early development for the child, then you need to adhere to the basic rules:

The main principle is no coercion: any activity should be carried out in the form of a game, and only when the child's interest is visible;
- no schedules and goals are needed - it is better to finish classes a little earlier than the moment when the child loses interest;
- classes should be versatile: read a book, draw, watch a cartoon on the topic, fashioned from plasticine;
- It is recommended to study the methods of early development and choose the one that is right for your child. And you can choose the best of several methods - the main thing is that it is interesting for the baby.

The main thing to remember is that the task of parents is to help the child develop naturally. The baby’s environment needs to be “filled in” with useful information: pictures, posters, tables with numbers and letters, and the application of techniques should be carried out with the help of useful toys (cubes, mosaic, constructor). When sending a child to a development center, pay attention to the age of other kids in the group - for a two-year-old, only classes with children of 2 years old and no others are suitable. Early development is a created environment in which there are many interesting objects, looking at which the child has the cherished “what” and “why”. And who, if not parents, are the best educators for the baby!